Margaret O'Dell Kay
November 25, 1927 - December 31, 2023

Margaret O'Dell Jay Kay. Born November 25, 1927. Died December 31, 2023
Survived by son G. Neal Kay, son John F. Kay, his wife Nicole Kay, and grandson Jonathan Kay. Preceded in death by her husband, George Watson Kay, Jr.; her mother, Margaret Jones Jay; her father, Fred Walter Jay; her brother, Richard Jay and his wife Jane Jay; and G. Neal Kay's wife Linda Kay.
Margaret (Peggy) Kay was born and raised in Gary, Indiana. The daughter of Fred Jay and Margaret Jay, Peggy came from a hard-working family in the steel industry of Gary, Indiana. Peggy's mother, Margaret Jones Jay, died in 1938 and left her without a mother. She was very close to her Aunt Dess, who nurtured her following her mother's death.
During high school, Peggy worked in the Gordon Department Store, where she sold lamps. After graduating from Horace Mann High School in Gary, she attended Albion College in Albion, Michigan. They graduated her in 1949 with a BS degree in Education. She served as a student teacher during college at Dalrymple Elementary School in Albion and was on the swim team of Albion College. It was at Albion that she met her husband George Kay, and they were married on August 20, 1949. In a story about Peggy, The Detroit Free Press announced that she had ''moved up one letter in the alphabet from Jay to Kay.''
His service in the U.S. Army at the conclusion of World War II delayed his graduation by one year. Following his graduation from Albion in 1950, Peggy and George moved to Battle Creek, Michigan, where she served as a first-grade elementary school teacher while her husband began work for Burroughs Corporation in the newly organized computer industry. Peggy would regularly invite her first-grade students to share dinner with them in their home. After her first son, Neal, was born in 1953, Peggy became a full-time homemaker. Her second son, John, was born in 1963.
Peggy and George moved to Chicago, Atlanta, Mobile, and Detroit before their final move to Dallas in 1977 as he worked for Burroughs Corporation throughout his career. Peggy had a great love for those of every socio-economic background as she regularly helped those in need. During her time in Atlanta and Mobile, Peggy was a strong supporter of the civil rights movement. Always dedicated to helping the least among us, she was a long-term member of the Philanthropic Educational Organization, who provide support to female college students in need of financial assistance. She served as a docent by teaching Western art to children at the Amon Carter Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas.
Peggy and George were members of United Methodist congregations in Richardson, Keller, and Denton. After George's death in 2009, she joined U.M. congregations in Stony, Plano, McKinney, Greenville, and Dallas.
Peggy was known by all who knew her for her high level of energy, her dedication to quality education for all, and for her willingness to help anyone in need. Always kind and always loving, Peggy will be greatly missed.
The family would like to express their thankfulness to her long-time sitters Yolanda Benitez and her daughter Liz, who lovingly and faithfully cared for Peggy at assisted-living facilities in Greenville.
Her memorial service is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 20, 2024, at Tyler Street Church, whose address is 927 W. Tenth St., Dallas, TX 75208. A simple reception will follow. In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial donation to Tyler Street Church and/or the church's Community Service Outreach.

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